Winter sports, my style

Taking sports safety to an extreme: "Yes, you can go out on your sled, but always ride it with a grown-up, and never on slippery snow."

It looks as if Rick Moran of RWNH has been taking lessons from me in the "how to respond to winter" department. My rule of thumb is, if you don't have to go out into the icy misery, just don't do it. Every time I attempt icy sidewalks, I end up studying the treetops from a recumbent position. I count myself lucky -- this past winter, I fell a total of four times, and really only injured myself once (I dislocated my shoulder a tad. I didn't even realize it was more than a slight sprain until it popped itself back in, about a week later, accompanied by a collection of those seven words commonly used by the sinestrosphere). Rick says he is sore in a bunch of places... I hope he's planning to see a doctor, especially about his crunched elbow.

Injuries are no fun, no matter what your age. Still, we recover from this sort of thing fairly rapidly when we're kids, but once we're out of school, falls are much more dangerous.

Eleven years ago (give or take a few months), I fell on the pavement, and I'm only just this past year or so able to walk long distances without leaning upon a cane. Some of the damage to one knee is permanent. The harm to my psyche is... well, my psyche was already damaged, but it added a phobia of running after buses. I'd rather walk twenty miles than race to the bus stop, today.

And don't get me going on icy sidewalks!

The sooner the final thaw gets here, the happier I will be (until allergies kick in).

And the faster Rick recovers, the better for those of us who enjoy reading his blogs. Who knows how the pain will affect his perspective on Jack Bauer, after all?